Judge orders newspaper to publish apology to Niall Mellon

A Judge has found that philanthropist Niall Mellon was defamed by a daily newspaper in a report claiming that he had sacked a personal assistant shortly before she was due to give birth.

Judge Alison Lindsay at the Circuit Civil Court ordered that the publishers of the Irish Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Ltd publish a correction and apology to Mr Mellon after finding that he had been defamed in an article that appeared in March last year which reported a claim by Helen O'Connor that she had been dismissed after asking him for financial help.

The Judge said that the newspaper had "no defence" to the action brought by Mr Mellon, who claimed that the article contained words that were untrue and inaccurate.

Mr Mellon (aged 44), a property developer from Rathfarnham, Dublin had brought proceedings under the 2009 Defamation Act arising out of the Irish Daily Mail report claiming he had sacked Ms O'Connor only two weeks before she was due to give birth.

The claim had been made by Ms O'Connor, of Glenbourne Grove, Leopardstown Valley, Dublin, in an unfair dismissal action she had taken before the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Ms O'Connor alleged at the tribunal she had been singled out for redundancy after she had approached Mr Mellon for financial help with an apartment she had bought from his company, Earthquake (Irl) Limited, Naas, Co Kildare.

The Judge, who adjourned the matter for a week to allow both sides could study her judgment, added that it was up to the parties concerned to agree the wording of the correction and apology, and the appropriate position, page and place in the defendant's newspaper.

The Judge said that if the parties could not reach agreement then the court had the power to to direct a publication of a summary of its' judgment.